The present invention relates to a liquid container, in particular, a liquid container with a large capacity, which is removably mountable in the main assembly of a recording apparatus, and stores liquid (ink) used for recording by a recording apparatus. The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus in which such a liquid container. in particular, a liquid container with a large capacity, is removably mountable.
Conventionally, a recording apparatus records on recording medium such as paper, fabric, plastic sheet, OHP sheet, and the like. It employs one of various recording heads different in the recording system they employ. As for the types of recording heads mounted in a recording apparatus, there are various recording heads different in the recording methods they use. For example, there are a wire-dot recording method, a thermal recording method, a thermal transfer method, and an ink jet method. Among various recording apparatuses, those that employ an ink jet recording system have been commercialized and have been used as an outputting means of an information processing system, for example, a printer as an output terminal of a copying machine, a facsimile machine, an electric typewriter, a word processor, or a work station, or a handy printer, that is, a portable printer, with which a personal computer, a host computer, a disk apparatus, a video apparatus, and the like, are provided.
In an ink jet system, an ink jet head is provided with microscopic ejection holes, and ink is shot out, in the form of an ink droplet, from these microscopic ejection holes. A desired recording is made by causing a plurality of ink droplets to land on the recording medium. An ink jet head for an ink jet recording apparatus employs one of various means for generating energy for ejecting ink from an ejection orifice, for example, a means which employs electromechanical transducers such as a piezoelectric element, or a means which ejects ink droplets by the effect of the heat generated by irradiating electromagnetic waves such a laser beam upon ink.
In recent years, a great amount of progress has been made in the field of a computer and the software therefore. As a result, it has become possible to process a color image, and therefore, a recording apparatus capable of outputting a high quality image, that is, a highly precise image, is in high demand as an output terminal for a computer capable of processing a color image. In order to enable an ink jet recording apparatus to output a color image, a plurality of inks different in color are used. Further, ejection hole density is increased, and ink density is changed.
With the drastic improvement in ink and a recording head, an ink jet recording apparatus has been improved in terms of durability (fastness) and water resistance of an image recorded by the apparatus, the recording speed, along with the reliability. As a result, an ink jet recording apparatus, which had remained in a small market for the users who use the apparatus at home or in a small office, has begun to penetrate into a large market for business users who use the apparatus in an office on a large scale. In comparison to a personal user, a business user has greater printing frequency and print count, and also is more sensitive to the cost of running the apparatus.
FIGS. 10 and 11 show an example of a conventional replaceable ink cartridge (liquid container) used with the above described ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of this ink cartridge, and shows component structures FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the ink cartridge illustrated in FIG. 10.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this ink cartridge has an ink storage chamber formed by an ink container 541 and an ink container lid 542. It also has a waste ink storage chamber formed by a waste ink container lid 545. Within the waste ink container 543, an absorbent member 544 for absorbing and retaining the recovered ink (the shape of the absorbent member 544 in the drawing represents the shape of the absorbent member 544 after its installation into the waste ink container 543) is contained. The lid 542 is attached to the ink container 541 by supersonic welding. It is also by supersonic welding that the waste ink container 543 and its lid 545 are attached to each other.
The ink container 541 is provided with a plurality of tubular claw grippers 555, which are located on the external surface of one of the lateral walls of the ink container 541, and the waste ink container 543 is provided with a plurality of claws 554, which are located on the external surfaces of one of the lateral walls of the waste ink container 543. Thus, as the ink container 541 and waste ink container 543 are slid against each other, while keeping the lateral wall surface with claws 555 and the lateral wall surface with tubular claw grippers flatly in contact with each other, the claws 554 engage into the tubular claw grippers 555, securing the ink container 541 and waste ink container 543 to each other.
As the ink container 541 and the waste ink container 543 are joined with each other, the external surface of the lid 542 and the external surface of the lid 543 become level with each other. These two surfaces are each provided with a housing 550 which contains an ink path. Each housing 550 is filled with a dorm-shaped elastic member 556, and is capped with a crown 547 or a fixing member. These components make up the joint portion through which the ink storage chamber is connected to the apparatus main assembly to allow ink to flow between the ink storage chamber and the apparatus main assembly. This joint portion and its adjacencies are surrounded by a wall 553 provided for preventing a hand or the like from coming in contact with them. The height of the joint portion is approximately the same as, or less than, that of the wall 553.
The external surface of one of the lateral walls 553 of the ink cartridge is provided with a plurality of insertion error prevention grooves 551 for preventing an ink cartridge different in type from the standard cartridge for the recording apparatus from being inserted into the apparatus main assembly.
As described above, the ink jet recording apparatus market has expanded from the size of the personal user market to the much greater size of the business user market. In comparison to a personal user, a business user has greater printing frequency and print count, and also is more sensitive to the cost of running the apparatus. Thus, it is important to reduce ink cartridge exchange frequency, and also to reduce the running cost by reducing the ratio of the ink cartridge cost exclusive of the cost of the ink within the ink cartridge, relative to the cost of the ink within the ink cartridge, in order to meet the needs of the business users. As a result, an ink cartridge with a larger ink capacity has come to be widely used.
As an ink cartridge is increased in its ink capacity, the overall weight of the ink cartridge increases. Therefore, the impact to which the ink cartridge is subjected if a user accidentally drops the ink cartridge increases. In the case of an ink cartridge with a small ink capacity, even if the claws and tubular claw grippers of the ink cartridge were subjected to the impact caused by dropping, there was no problem. However, in the case of an ink cartridge with an increased ink capacity, the impact to which the claws 554 and tubular claw grippers 555 are subjected is much greater, creating a possibility that the ink container 541 and waste ink container 543 become separated due to the impact. Further, in the case of an ink cartridge which has a large capacity and is structured as was the above described conventional ink cartridge, if it is subjected to the impact which applies to the waste ink container 543 from the direction of the lid 545, a relatively large force applies to the claws 552 and tubular claw grippers 553 in the direction to disengage them, making it probable that the ink container 541 and waste ink container 541 become separated from each other.
Further, with the increase in the usage of an ink jet recording apparatus, inks which are suitable for specific usages have been developed, increasing the number of inks available for an ink jet recording apparatus. Obviously, inks different in properties must not be mixed, and therefore, in order to prevent inks different in properties from being mixed, it is necessary to increase the number of identification mechanisms, such as the insertion error prevention grooves of the above described conventional ink cartridge, which are different in configuration. In order to increase the number of identification mechanisms different in configuration, it is necessary to increase the number of the structural elements for an identification mechanism. However, it is difficult to secure a physical space for placing an identification mechanism comprising a large number of structural elements.
Thus, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge (liquid container) which is superior in terms of resistance to the impact caused by dropping, and the identification mechanism of which can be easily modified.
A liquid container (container cartridge) in accordance with the present invention, which accomplishes the above described object, is a liquid container for holding liquid, which is removably mountable in the main assembly of a recording apparatus which records an image by adhering liquid to recording medium. It has a joint portion which forms a liquid path between the liquid container and the recording apparatus main assembly as the liquid container is mounted into the recording apparatus main assembly.
A liquid container (container cartridge) in accordance with the present invention is characterized in that it comprises two major portions secured to each other. One of the two major portions is provided with claws which are located on the surface to be placed in contact with the other of the two major portions, whereas the other major component is provided with tubular claw grippers which are located on the surface to be placed in contact with the first major portion as the two major portions are joined, the claws engage into the tubular claw grippers, being gripped thereby to secure the two portions to each other. Further, one of the two major portions is provided with a projection which is located on the surface different from the surface on which the claws or tubular claw grippers are located, and the other of the two major portions is provided with a recess, which is located on the surface correspondent to the surface with the projection, and in which the projection is fitted. As the two major portions are joined, the projection is perfectly fitted in the recess.
with the provision of the above described structural arrangement, even if the liquid container is accidentally dropped, and the interface between the two major portions is subjected to stress, the projection remains perfectly fitted in the recess, controlling the shifting of the two major portions relative to each other at their interface. Therefore, the stress which applies to the claws and tubular claw grippers is reduced, preventing the claws and tubular claw grippers from becoming disengaged, or damaged. Since the projection and recess are much stronger against impact, compared to the claws and tubular claw grippers, there is little possibility that they will be damaged by the stress and their engagement with each other will become unstable due to the damage,
According to the present invention, the ink container is provided with at least two pairs of a claw and a tubular claw gripper, and in addition, the ink container is structured so that the direction in which a group of claws are moved to be gripped by the correspondent tubular claw grippers, becomes perpendicular to the direction in which another group of claws are moved to be gripped by the correspondent tubular claw grippers. Thus, the aforementioned two major portions of the ink container are secured to each other by at least two pairs of a claw and a tubular claw gripper, which are different in the direction in which they function. In other words, the movements of the two major portions relative to each other are controlled in two directions perpendicular to each other. Therefore, the two major components remain securely attached to each other.
Of the claws of the ink container, those which engage with the tubular claw grippers when the two major portions are moved relative to each other in the first direction, are made elastically deformable. Therefore, when sliding the two major portions to join them, the elastically deformable claws are first engaged in the tubular claw grippers, being kept deformed in the tubular claw grippers during the initial period, and then, the rest of the claws are engaged in the corresponding tubular claw grippers by continuing the sliding. In other words, according to the present invention, the two major portions of the ink container can be easily joined.
The aforementioned two major portions of the ink container are a liquid container main assembly, and a cover attached to the liquid container main assembly. The liquid container main assembly forms a liquid storage chamber for holding liquid. The cover is provided with a plurality of guide rails or guide grooves, which slide one for one into a plurality of guide grooves or guide rails provided on the recording apparatus main assembly side, when the liquid container is inserted into the recording apparatus main assembly. Therefore, it is assured that, when the ink container is inserted into the recording apparatus main assembly, the liquid container is guided to the liquid container space where it is supposed to be mounted.
Further, the cover may be provided with an insertion error prevention projection which fits in an insertion error prevention recess provided on the recording apparatus main assembly side. In this case, the patterns of the projection and corresponding recess are varied according to the type of a liquid container. With this structural arrangement, when an attempt is accidentally made to insert an ink container into a recording apparatus into which this ink container is not supposed to be inserted, it cannot be inserted, and therefore, the ink container is prevented from being inserted into a recording apparatus incompatible with the ink container.
Further, the cover may be provided with a storage medium, and terminals for electrically connecting the storage medium with the main assembly of a recording apparatus, while providing the recording apparatus main assembly with a means for reading the data in the storage medium of the recording apparatus main assembly, and a recording apparatus operation controlling means for controlling the operation of the recording apparatus according to these data. With the provision of the above arrangement, the data regarding the detected state of the liquid container, the control data, the identification data, the liquid amount data, and apparatus maker data, can be stored in the storage medium, and based on these data, it is possible to generate a warning signal, to display recording data, and to interrupt a recording operation; in other words, it is possible to improve a recording apparatus in reliability. Further, the recording apparatus main assembly may be provided with a means for modifying the data in the storage medium, so that the data in the storage medium can be corrected as necessary to improve the data in the storage medium in reliability.
Further, the cover may be provided with a handle so that a liquid container can be mounted into, or removed from, the main apparatus of a recording apparatus by grasping the handle.
In essence, according to the present invention, the cover of an ink container is provided with: a plurality of guide rails or guide grooves, which can be slid into the guide grooves, one for one, provided on the main assembly side of a recording apparatus when the ink container is inserted into the recording apparatus main assembly; an insertion error prevention recess or insertion error prevention projection, the configuration of which can be varied according to liquid container type; a storage medium; and/or a handle, making it possible to realize various types of ink containers different in the configuration of the recording apparatus into which they are mounted, simply by modifying the cover configuration while keeping the same configuration for the ink container main assembly. Further, the ink container is structured so that ink does not come into contact with the cover, and therefore, liquid resistant material has to be used only for the liquid container main assembly. In other words, the liquid container main assembly and its cover can be formed of different materials, according to their functions, in order to reduce material cost, or to improve their functions.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.